Corporate Dropout

A thousand shall fall by thy side…but not you. #wewin

by Ibrahim Nwagui March 22, 2020

We are in the midst of a global pandemic. COVID 19 has claimed thousands of lives, completely up-ended commerce globally and has forced entire countries to strongly consider, if they haven’t implemented them already, non-movement mandates for their citizens. All this and we still don’t fully understand the scope of what we are dealing with and how to ensure our safety and survival during this very confusing time.

That was for context…

Might I offer perspective? Thank you.

An advantage in the favor of the underdog has been created and only a handful of us recognize it and an even smaller margin of us will take action (you are in that small margin because you’ve read this far, let’s go!). If you’re willing to read a little further I’ll explain that advantage and steps to execute. 

Advantage: If you consider yourself an underdog you probably know what perceived failure feels like in your home, at the job, at school, with your business and the list goes on. The point is, you don’t like it and you don’t want to feel it again. For me, failure alone wasn’t enough to stop my self sabotaging ways, it was the thought of my kids bearing the brunt of my mishandling of time, robbing them of the bare minimum; a clean slate. The bottom line is it is much easier for an underdog to access his or her “why” when trying to find motivation to change or continue the fight.  

The second part to the advantage is ‘time’. We all will be gifted with a little more of it in the coming weeks for better or for worst. 

Now lets STOP. RIGHT. HERE… this is VERY important. For some of us the VICTIM mindset just reared its ugly head in the form of very logical reasons as to why you won’t have time. I’m telling you, if you don’t get verbally aggressive with that demon of all demons, it will invite its friends in so quick you won’t even have a chance to read the rest of this blog let alone do something that YOU said YOU wan’t to do for YOURself. We’re not even talking about something someone else wants you to do, we’re talking YOU. 

Say this too yourself and that demon: “You cannot be a victim and Victor at the same time, it is literally impossible.”

If you consider yourself a victim, stay here, the following is not for you yet, and I do mean yet. Don’t give up, its just that the following does not lend itself well to anyone who is looking outside of themselves for change.

Now for my Victors…my courageous soldiers (notice I did not say fearless, fear is natural. Identify and accept fear, then inch towards it until you’ve defeated it)

• Step 1:  If you’ve read this far, you’ve already done it. Identify yourself as a Victor and put away the victim mindset.
• Step 2: Forgive yourself. Verbally tell yourself “I forgive you, you are free” 
• Step 3: Seek out discomfort TODAY. If you have never starred into a mirror and told yourself “I love you” do it today. 
• Step 4: Establish “you” time. 1 minute or 1 hour, it doesn’t matter as long as its yours because you are going to need it for step 5 
• Step 5: Take care of yourself for the next 2 weeks in these 3 categories: Spiritual, Mental and Physical

1. Spiritual: It doesn’t necessarily have to be connected to religion it just needs to be quiet time away from daily thoughts. A quiet, a peace. If this is not something you do already I challenge you to 1 minute of quiet time. 
2. Mental: Read. It does not matter what it is as long as it is not on your phone. If your patience is low with reading, I challenge you to read 1 paragraph on a physical page non stop with no interruptions
3. Physical: Whatever physical activity you can do, do 1 more rep of it. If you don’t do physical activities currently, I challenge you to do 1 rep daily for the next 2 weeks. 

• Step 6: Give. Outside of what you are already doing give a dollar via cashapp, help an unsuspecting family member or friend, give time, call an older person who would enjoy just your conversation. The only way this will work is if you keep your mouth closed, just do it, no reason needed nor reward just do it.
• Step 7: Repeat steps 1 through 6 daily at the exact same time for the next 2 weeks if possible. The goal is to build a routine. One of my favorite rappers said to me “Routine builds character” and I believe that statement because I’ve seen it happen for myself.

Now as for that old victim mindset…he’s persistent. Even though we’ve read this far and have proclaimed to be Victors, the victim mindset is always lurking in the background waiting for a vulnerability to expose. When the attempt occurs, just remember the following:

The point of the 7 step process is to gain clarity in what you want for yourself and equally important, to identify the people, things and behaviors that have and can get in the way of the life you see for yourself. All of your efforts going forward should be geared towards becoming the best version of yourself because you can’t give to anyone if you’re empty. A thousand may fall by thy side but it shall not come ny thee because you are equipped, you are a Victor and you win!